2020 Honda CR-V vs 2022

What's the difference?

The Honda CR-V VTi-L7 is a really nice midsize family SUV let down by a lack of active safety equipment. It has been disappointingly left behind its competitors on that front, and while it isn't “unsafe”, you need to know that rival SUVs offer considerably better safety gear than it, and that could be enough to sway your decision.

A shame, really. Because otherwise it's fairly brilliant.

If you're looking for a light-duty mid-sized SUV that is more city-comfortable than country-capable, then the Honda CR-V VTi L7 might be right for you.

It’s a tidy daily driver – the interior is nicely put-together and roomy enough – and the fact this CR-V has seven seats adds a welcome aspect of flexibility to its people- and load-carrying ability. 

The fact that Honda can somehow squeeze seven seats - with room for seven actual people - into a body this compact is a testament to the brand's clever packaging philosophy.

The CR-V dimensions don't chance whether you're buying the five-seat or seven-seat model. It measures 4596mm long (on a 2660mm wheelbase), 1855mm wide and 1679mm tall. For reference, the length of a CR-V is more than a ruler shorter than a Toyota Corolla sedan. That's truly amazing considering there are seven seats in here.

Of course that comes down to the tall, square body of the CR-V, which - unlike some competitors - is unashamedly focused on practicality.

The interior design is a key part of that focus, and the CR-V has some things are dreamy for parents and grandparents - like rear doors that open almost to right angles, allowing for very easy access to the back seats (but could also lead to unintended door dings in car parks if enthusiastic youngsters fling them open with force).

There are also five child seat attachment points for the rear five seats. The third-row features top-tether only points, which are off to the side of the boot so you still have usable cargo space with the rearmost seats in play.

But on the flipside, the top-tether points for the second row are located in the ceiling of the boot area, meaning you have to run straps through the head-space of the third row to secure the seats in place, essentially rendering that back row as unusable if the second-row is kitted out for kids seats. Of course there are dual ISOFIX outboard anchors as well, but Australian legislation requires top straps be fitted in addition to ISOFIX.

SUVs, as popular as they are, all seem to occupy a comfortable middle-of-the-road niche, in terms of styling.

Nothing outrageous, nothing offensive. Nothing wrong with that. Just like my nan used to say about her grandkids’ haircuts: Why have a mullet when a short-back-and-sides will get you good looks every time?

The CR-V, as before, is on the right side of satisfactory, with a quietly pleasant interior and exterior.

The black-out grille, hidden door handles, and dual chrome exhaust finishers are all nice exterior touches.

I already covered off some of the third-row design considerations in that section, but how does that all translate to the space on offer?

I'm 182cm and I (just) fit in all three rows.

In the very back seats the headroom is the main issue. I struggled to fit in the back row sitting upright, my neck was cricked to the side in order to fit. But smaller adults or children shouldn't have too much of an issue back there, as the width, kneeroom and toe room was adequate for short trips. There are some bottle holders in the back, and there are rear air vents and a fan controller for those in the back.

Third-row access is decent, as the middle-row seats flip and tumble forward (60:40 split, with the smaller section thankfully on the kerbside). They also slide to allow access, but that might be difficult if you have a child seat fitted.

I can't stress enough how much having the top-tether points in the roof section will annoy you if you regularly use the third row. Many competitors have the top tether anchor integrated into the back of the middle-row seat, and they also have sliding functionality which is, quite simply, a better way of doing it.

In the second row, there's decent leg room, toe room and head room, even with a large sunroof. Amenities are good, with dual map pockets, a pair of directional air vents, a flip down armrest with a pair of cup holders, and bottle holders in the doors too.

And then up front there's exceptional practicality, with a huge centre console section with a secondary section below the cup holders. There's also a covered bin, plus another storage section in front of the cup holders below the high-mounted gear selector, big door pockets with bottle holders, and a pair of small storage slots either side of the gear selector box, too.

The steering wheel is nice and neat, the driver info screen is a fully digital affair - there's a digital speedometer, fuel readout, and trip computer. It takes a bit of learning to get the controls down pat using the steering wheel buttons, but there's a bit going on.

The media screen is a 7.0-inch touch-capacitive unit, which is getting to be on the small side by today's standards. It has the stuff you'd expect, though, with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, sat nav and digital radio all included. It's a bit of an old-school display and the menus are fine but not super intuitive, and the screen doubles as a display for the reversing camera and Honda's proprietary LaneWatch side-view system.

If you're wondering about charging, there are four USB ports (two front, two rear) and there's even a HDMI input. The sound system has eight speakers, and the quality is pretty good, too.

As for boot space or cargo capacity, there's 150 litres (VDA) of luggage space with all the rear seats in play - or enough for school bags or some shopping - and that increases to 472L in five-seat layout (suitcases, sporting gear, a pram - and maybe even all at once!). Fold down all the rear seats and you've got 967L of room to the window line, and a lot more if you dare load up above that line.

There's a movable rear floor section that gives you a level playing field if you need it when storing long items, and under the boot floor (and the third-row seats) there's even a full-size alloy spare wheel. Neat!

The CR-V is 4635mm long (with a 2660mm wheelbase), 1855mm wide, 1679mm high and it has a listed kerb weight of 1642kg. 

It’s quite a roomy interior, for a medium SUV, and it’s also a tidy space, adequately equipped with storage places and user-friendly functionalities, including dual-zone climate control.

Upfront, the dash looks decent enough though the 7.0-inch touchscreen is too small I reckon, and the centre console was redesigned through the last round of major changes, two years ago.

Throughout the cabin everyone has access to enough phone-charging spots – there are four USB points in total, with two of those and a wireless charging pad upfront – and enough cup holders (10) and storage places scattered about the interior to keep even the fussiest of road-trippers among us happy. 

There’s even a 12V outlet upfront.

Seats are reasonably comfortable all-round, except for the third row which is a bit of a punishment for anyone but young children or the most diminutive of your mates. 

The driver’s seat has eight-way power adjustment and two-position memory; the front passenger seat has four-way power adjustment.

The 60:40 second-row seats are roomy enough; I sat behind my driving position and had a comfortable amount of head, leg and knee room.

In terms of child restraint points, the second row has three top tether and two ISOFIX points. There is a fold-down arm-rest with two cup holders, and there are two USB points and air-vent controls in the back of the centre console.

Third-row passengers also have air vents in their little kingdom.

While I’m talking about the third row it’s worth mentioning here that the rear doors open to 90-degrees, which is handy for getting in and out of the second or third rows, or loading and unloading gear/kids/groceries into either of those spaces.

Official cargo capacity is 150 litres with all three rows in use; 472 litres with the third row down; and 1486 litres with the second and third rows down and loaded up to the roof.

The full-size spare alloy wheel is under the rear floor cover.

The two-tiered cargo floor at the rear that can be folded flat is a nice touch, giving you some flexibility to separate loads (maybe wet beach towels in the bottom and dry gear on the shelf above), or just lay it flush to be a uniformly flat load space.

At time of writing, the VTi L7 has a national driveway price of $43,490. This seven-seater has a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and is the second-from-top spec in the current CR-V line-up, along with a five-seat AWD variant in the same trim level.

This CR-V variant has an extensive features list and newer additions to that include a seven-inch touchscreen multimedia unit (with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Garmin sat nav), a hands-free power tailgate, wireless phone charging (on VTi L7 and VTi LX AWD grades), and dual zone climate control.

It also gets LED headlights, LED fog lights, privacy glass, a panoramic sunroof, and roof rails, in keeping with its sporty presence.

All CR-V trim levels have driver-assist tech under the umbrella of Honda Sensing and includes such safety wizardry as adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, forward collision warning, lane departure warning and more.

It rides on 18-inch alloy wheels shod with Toyo Proxes R45 tyres (235/60 R18).

Exterior paint colours include Platinum White pearlescent, Lunar Silver metallic, Brilliant Sporty Blue metallic, Modern Steel metallic, Crystal Black pearlescent, Ignite Red metallic, and Cosmic Blue metallic (on our test vehicle). Metallic or pearlescent paint do not incur an additional charge.

This grade of Honda CR-V - like all but the base model - comes with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.

Want to know engine specs? The power output is 140kW (at 5600rpm) and the torque figure is 240Nm (at 2000-5000rpm). Not quite a horsepower hero, but better than adequate outputs nonetheless.

As with all CR-Vs the gearbox is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) auto, which isn't to all tastes but is a good pairing with this powerplant.

The model you choose in the CR-V range will determine if it comes in two-wheel drive (2WD)/front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). This one is a 2WD.

Towing capacity is 600kg for an unbraked trailer, and 1000kg for a braked trailer for all seven-seat CR-V models (and, according to Honda Australia's site, that figure is "with seven seats occupied" - but the onus is on the driver to ensure the gross combination mass, or GCM, doesn't exceed 3300kg). Five-seat CR-V models offer 600kg unbraked/1500kg braked towing capacity. 

The VTi L7 has the CR-V line-up’s 1.5-litre four-cylinder VTEC turbocharged petrol engine – producing 140kW at 5600rpm and 240Nm at 2000-5000rpm – and is paired to a CVT transmission able to be worked via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

This match-up is a quietly sufficient, if unexciting, combination. 

Note: this CR-V variant is front-wheel drive; it is not an all-wheel drive vehicle.

Claimed fuel consumption on the combined test cycle, according to Honda, is 7.3 litres per 100 kilometres. It has an eco mode (Econ, as Honda calls it) that dulls the throttle a bit and aims for better fuel use, and that mode was engaged the entire time for my test, as I didn't feel I needed extra engine grunt at all.

That was all the more impressive as I did more than 600km in the CR-V, most of which was highway driving (including a loop west over the Blue Mountains and back!), and bettered that claim, with 7.0L/100km displayed on test.

Official fuel consumption is listed as 7.3L/100km (combined). 

Actual fuel consumption on test was 8.9L/100km. 

The CR-V has a 57-litre fuel tank so, with going by that as-tested fuel-consumption figure, you can reasonably expect a driving range of approximately 590km from a full tank, but that’s factoring in a safe-distance buffer of 50km.

As mentioned above, my drive time was largely out of town - but I was impressed, as always, with the CR-V in all situations.

It's such a competent mid-size SUV, one that is perfectly suited to family buyers who want a comfortable car that's quiet and easy to live with. I really think it is one of the best in the class in terms of balancing comfort and control. It's arguably more comfortable than a CX-5, Tucson or RAV4, and more controlled than a Forester, X-Trail or Outlander.

The suspension is well sorted, with a ride quality that is very well resolved, very comfortable for both the driver and passengers, and yet it still handles quite nicely too, with direct and enjoyable steering that is both quick to respond, and easy to judge. Some people might find it's a little too darty, but you get used to it - trust me.

The engine and transmission work well together, though the transmission can rob you of some of the joy of the turbo engine's thrust. The engine does offer a good dollop of grunt in Econ mode, you just need to get to the throttle detent (that section midway down the throttle travel where it goes from measured response to more urgent acceleration) to take advantage of it.

It's very refined, very quiet, and very impressive. I'd happily do long distance driving in a CR-V on a regular basis, and it's also adept at urban driving duties: it's easy to park, deals well with slow-speed bumps and lumps, and the drive experience is pretty relaxing overall.

Not too bad, really – without ever being anywhere near exceptional or even exciting.

The driver’s seat is eight-way power adjustable, as mentioned earlier, and the steering column is tilt and telescopic adjustable so it’s easy enough to approximate your preferred driving position.

And steering has a balanced feel about it, if a tad too light, but that sensation does fit with the general medium-sized SUV feel of the CR-V, which will likely spend most of its time as a suburban or inner-city chariot. It has a listed minimum turning radius of 5.5m.

It’s a mid-size SUV so it’s a nimble enough around town and the CR-V’s 1.5-litre turbo engine and CVT make for a predictable, if lacklustre, pairing and throttle response is not too sharp.

However, if you do get the urge, you can play around with the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters in an attempt to inject some more life into this 140kW/240Nm SUV.

The CR-V has a solid on-road stance and ride and handling are adequate, with a reliable general feel, but the suspension is on the wrong side of firm, and this Honda tends to become skippy at speed through rougher sections and it thumps through even shallow potholes.

Rolling rubber is Toyo Proxes R45 (235/60 R18) and the CR-V has a full-sized alloy spare wheel is under the floor in the rear cargo space. 

There is plenty of driver-assist tech onboard and its LaneWatch system (which, when you use the left indicator, shows you the camera view back along the vehicle’s left-hand side) actually comes in handy, especially if you spend any time in a city where you’ll need to watch out for cyclists and other road users.

Otherwise, there is sufficient all-round visibility. The reversing camera view, depicted on the multimedia screen, while not big enough, is clear enough that you shouldn’t have any strife if you keep a close eye on that as you reverse.

The CR-V has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2017.

It has six airbags (front, side and full-length curtains for all three rows), as well as a raft of driver-assist and passive safety tech including those items mentioned in the ‘features’ section near the top of this page as well as hill start assist, driver attention monitor, trailer stability assist, and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

Honda covers all of its new models with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. That's par for the course these days, but the brand has dabbled in promotional seven-year warranty cover. Hit up the dealer to see if your purchase is eligible for this extended warranty.

And the company also has a capped price service plan, which runs out to up to 10 years. Service intervals are every 12 months or 10,000km, which is a bit more regular than most rivals (which have annual/15,000km intervals).

The basic cost per maintenance visit is $312, which is pretty affordable for this class of vehicle, but that is before you factor in some additional consumables such as the cabin air filter ($45, every 24 months/30,000km), brake fluid ($58, every 36 months), transmission fluid ($172, every 36 months/40,000km), air cleaner element ($55, every 60,000km) and spark plugs ($274, every 100,000km).

When it comes to roadside assistance, Honda offers all new car buyers five years of coverage (or seven years if you get a seven-year warranty plan).

The CR-V is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and five years of premium roadside assistance is available.

Service appointments are recommended at 12 month/10,000km intervals or when the engine oil monitor light illuminates, whichever comes first.

The CR-V 2WD has an average cost per service over five years of $312, with a total capped cost over that same period of $3120. Owners are advised of extra costs beyond that total (for example, $45 for a cabin / dust & pollen filter).